Serving

What is Service?

Service is the legal term to describe the giving of court documents by one person to another. It means giving the other person a copy of your documents in a way that satisfies the Court that the other person has received them.

As the service requirements of the Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court may vary, go to the Forms section of the Family Law website for both Courts service forms, and a service kit from the Family Court.

Affidavit of Service

You complete this form and file it after documents have been served to prove they have been served.

The completed and signed original of the form is filed at the Court. Before you file it you must also make sufficient copies to have one for each person to be served and a copy for your own records.

What should be attached to this Form

You may need to attach certain documents to the Affidavit of Service.

If the person served has signed and returned to you the Acknowledgment of Service and

you can recognise the signature on the Acknowledgment, the original of that document must be attached to the Affidavit of Service; or

you cannot recognise the signature on the Acknowledgment of Service, then the document must be attached to an affidavit of a person who can recognise the signature with a statement which might, for example, state:

‘I recognise the signature on the attached Acknowledgment of Service as that of [insert the name of the person served] because I have seen that person’s signature on previous occasions.’

If a photograph was used to identify the person to be served, the photograph should be attached to the affidavit (see Part D, Item 5 of the Affidavit of Service).

The Service Kit provides instructions on how to serve documents.

In completing a Court form, you must*

Complete the form by typing (eg. on a computer or typewriter) or hand printed in ink.

NOTE: Hard copies of all forms, brochures, kits and booklets are also available through any Family Law Registry. If you are interested in ordering bulk hard copies click to view information on ordering publications.

When do you serve documents?

Whenever you file a document in support of your case, a copy of that document must be served on the other person/people involved in the proceedings. This must be done as soon as possible after filing the document. There may be time limits within which documents must be served. Check with Court staff about the relevant time limits.

Who do you serve with the documents?

A copy of the document filed with the Court must be served on the:

other person or people involved in the proceedings, and

the Children’s Representative if one has been appointed in your case.

If the other person has a lawyer, that lawyer may accept service on behalf of his/her client except where documents must be served in person.

Service of documents on persons who are not parties

There are some documents that must be served on persons who are not parties. For example, if you are applying for an order for property settlement and either party has a superannuation interest, you may need to serve a copy of the application on the trustee of the superannuation plan in which the interest is held. Other examples include the service of subpoena and the service of documents on the Child Support Registrar. You should seek legal advice about what needs to be done in these circumstances.

How can you show the Court that the documents have been served?

You should obtain the Courts Service Kit and more details about service and proof of service from the Family Law Courts website.

Important Links

Mobile Apps

iMatter:

The iMatter app has been developed to help young women understand the warning signs of abusive and controlling behaviour in relationships as well as promote healthy self-esteem. The aim is to build resilience, to educate about disrespect and intimate partner violence and to promote conversations among young people about healthy relationship behaviour. Users can share content, save content to their phone and learn how to recognise and address controlling/abusive behaviour and gender inequality, as well as support others who are experiencing violence.

What is Domestic Violence? Are you safe at home? Want to rate your relationship? Are you concerned about a friend or relative? Where can you get help? LiveFree is designed to increase your understanding of domestic violence and provide information about warning signs and links to services. The LiveFree App is currently on iPhones only and will become available on androids in about 8 weeks time.

Web Apps and Projects

Refocus
It’s a free, easy-to-use and interactive App for women who have, are, or thinking of separating.

iDecide
Do you worry about whether your relationship is healthy?
Do you sometimes wonder if you are safe?
If you are a woman aged between 16 and 50 and you have experienced relationship issues over the last 6 months you are invited to take part in this project.